Help “Miles” & “The Greasy Hands Preachers”

Byron's sure to be hunched over a laptop after the checkers are flown, caught in his own little version of heaven. Whether on dirt, street or a combination of both, MotoUSA's newest addition knows the only thing better than actually riding is telling the story of how things went down.

Kickstarter is quickly becoming the go-to funding source for amateur inventors, artists, filmmakers and other creative types looking to generate support for projects that may not otherwise see the light of day. We at MotoUSA have an obvious bent toward all things two-wheeled and have helped spread the word on projects like the Nuviz Ride:HUD system, a documentary on John Penton, a ‘round the world travel book called “Forks” and a number of others. Two motorcycle films are currently mid-campaign, one nearly finished and the other looking to get off the ground, and they both look like they have the potential to be amazing. One is called “Miles” and the other is “The Greasy Hands Preachers.”

“Miles”

“Miles” is the brainchild of Oliver Daly, a computer graphics animator from Venice in California. It will be a feature film set in the Inland Empire where a teenage dirt-bike rider meets with a curious military creation named Max. As the story goes, Max is a product of military weapons engineering, a remote controlled beast that has been created to replace soldiers on the front line. Max and Miles develop a bond that will ultimately be tested as the film progresses.

The movie has already generated interest from professional racers like Ryan Villopoto and Adam Cianciarulo. It’s already over halfway to the goal of $40,000 with 22 days remaining before the end of the campaign. Daly is committed to utilizing the expertise of the off-road racing community for support with both the human riders in the film, as well as in designing Max’s movements.

Funds garnered in this campaign will go to creating a “proof of concept” film, a short that demonstrates the features of the film, shows that they can be created and used as a tool for gaining the notice of studio executives. The film “District 9” was picked-up after producing a proof of concept, for example. Half of the funds will go to live action shooting while the other half will be dedicated to animation of Max.

There are incentives for contributions, from access to behind the scenes videos and a digital copy for $10 dollars up to an Executive Producer credit in the final credits for $5000 or more. Included below are conceptual photos that show, roughly, what Max and the film will look like. To learn more, check out the Miles Kickstarter page.

“The Greasy Hands Preachers”

“The Greasy Hands Preachers,” is a documentary shot in actual film, Super 16mm, which looks at motorcycling from the perspective of those that actively work on and build the machines we love. Builders like Shinya Kamura, Roland Sands, El Solitario, Deus Ex Machina are featured along with many others.

The documentary is the product of Clement Beauvais and Arthur de Kersauson and is near the end of production. They’ve shot film in California, Utah, Scotland, France, Spain thanks to initial support from Belstaff, BMW Motorrad and Motul but now need extra funds to complete post production. The goal is to raise $100,000 to help cover music rights costs, color grading and final shooting. The goal is for “The Greasy Hands Preachers” to have a proper theatrical release, and possibly someday rank among the great motorcycle films like “On Any Sunday” and “Easy Rider.” They’ve got a long way to go: as of the writing of this article they’ve raised $28,393 and have 19 days remaining.

Incentives for contributions range from “Greasy Hands Preacher” stickers and digital copies up to a Producer credit for $10,000-plus contributions. Check out the trailer below to get a sense for what “The Greasy Hands Preachers” and head over to their Kickstarter page to learn more.